‘Cyber Week’ will generate 20% of holiday revenue

Dive Brief:

The five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday will drive $29 billion in online shopping revenue, according to a report from Adobe Analytics. That "Cyber Week" revenue will account for 20% of total holiday revenue, and total online holiday spending is expected to surpass $143.7 billion — a 14.1% increase year over year.
Large e-commerce retailers saw a revenue increase of 65% during November and December in 2018, while smaller retailers only saw a 35% boost, the report noted.
Shopping via smartphone will generate 36% of e-commerce sales this holiday season, a 20% share increase year over year. Smartphone purchases are smaller in value, with baby and toddler products and toys leading the way. Desktop order value is 28% higher and tends to be reserved for larger purchases like electronics or furniture.

Dive Insight:

For the first time ever, Adobe Analytics anticipates every day in November and December will surpass $1B in online sales. Part of that is perhaps due to the shorter holiday shopping period this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, condensing timelines for both retailers and consumers.

One anticipated lucrative period is the late evening on Cyber Monday. The four-hour span from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific Time brings in 30% of Cyber Monday revenue, with conversion nearly doubling during that time period. The report predicts Cyber Monday revenue of $9.4 billion this year, an 18.9% increase year over year.

Smartphone shopping may be another factor influencing high e-commerce revenue this holiday season. Smartphones will account for 47% of overall holiday growth, Adobe notes, indicating that shoppers are getting more comfortable making purchases from their phones.

But not all retailers will reap the benefits of this increased comfort with online shopping in its various forms. While large retailers see a revenue boost of 150% on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, also known as Small Business Saturday, small businesses — those with under $50 million revenue, according to Adobe — only see an 84% boost in revenue. Now in its ninth year, Small Business Saturday may not have as much of a draw for online shoppers as it does for the brick-and-mortar crowd.

Last year, mobile represented 58.3% of e-commerce site visits, according to another Adobe Analytics report. The increasing ability to click on an ad or social media post to shop a mobile-friendly catalog was seen as a factor last year, and may continue to be a focus this year as more retailers offer Instagram Checkout.